Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Governor elect Scott Walker in support of similar SB 1070 measure, which could lead to racially motivated stops in Wisconsin

By H. Nelson Goodson
November 10, 2010

Hartford, Wisconsin - On Wednesday in a Wisconsin Eye Newsmakers interview State Representative Donald Pridemore (R-Hartford) confirmed when the Wisconsin state assembly meets in the January session as a Republican majority control legislature, Pridemore will introduce a similar Arizona SB 1070 law. The bill will allow state and local enforcement agencies on "reasonable suspicion" to require legal status from people they suspect are in the country and state illegally. The suspects will automatically be detained for 48 hours, until they can prove their legal status. If they can't, police will then call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Pridemore's Arizona type immigration state enforcement bill will eliminate the City of Madison's "Sanctuary" ordinace and allow county governments to charge detainees in jails for their care.
Pridemore will have the support of Newly elected Governor Scott Walker (R) who vowed to sign a similar Arizona law. The Pridemore bill will most likely pass in the Republican control legislature. Also, re-elected Wisconsin Congressman F. James (Jim) Sensenbrenner Jr. (R) is expected to support Pridemore and could follow with his version in the House.
The Hispanic Republican group in the Wisconsin's GOP has failed to make a stand when asked, whether they would support Walker and Pridemore's similar Arizona law. One thing for sure about this Republican Latino group, they expect for Walker to fullfill his promises, which includes signing a similar Arizona SB 1070 measure.
In January, ICE Secure Communities program will also be adopted by some county jails in Wisconsin. The program allows ICE to tap into the fingerprinting of illegal detainees and legal residents when they are processed and jailed for a minor or a felony violation.
In Madison, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney (D) was re-elected and will continue his policy to check with ICE, if suspected undocumented immigrants jailed in the Dane County jail are wanted in another country. Illegal inmates in Dane County are turned in to ICE.
In Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke (D) was also re-elected and is operating under an agreement to house illegal detainees and gets more than $350,000 a year from ICE. Under the agreement with ICE, by federal law Milwaukee County Jail has to check on the legal status of all inmates and those processed and booked for minor or felony violations in jail.
In July, Phoenix, Arizona - U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled to block major controversial parts of Arizona's SB 1070 making the state law useless. Bolton's ruling gave a big blow and setback to Governor Jan Brewer's anti immigration law, which required state and local police officers to ask for legal status, if they suspected someone was illegally in the country during investigations. The U.S. Department of Justice, Latino and civil rights organizations challenged SB 1070 because it's unconstitutional and infringes in the federal government's right to enforce immigration laws and the law leads to racial profiling. The State of Arizona has spent nearly $1 million in state and donations to defend SB 1070, which in the end will have spent millions on a failed piece of racially motivated bill.
On June 26, Pridemore in his campaign website to get re-elected a seventh term vowed to introduce such a measure. He wrote, that he "sees no reason to back down on his plans to author a bill on illegal immigration, despite the threat of a legal challenge by the Federal Government to a similar Arizona law which asks the Federal government to enforce its own laws."
“This is a conversation that should have begun long ago before the illegal drug trade exacerbated the issue and now needs to be addressed ASAP,” Pridemore said, “The “status quo” is unacceptable in terms of law enforcement, crime, taxes and social benefits, along with a host of other social problems tied to the issue. To do nothing would simply sentence another generation of families to a life of hiding in car trunks, continuously looking over their shoulder and continuing to be slaves of their work environment,” Pridemore added.
“The legislation I will be introducing (1) requires law enforcement to act when they suspect a law has been broken and the perpetrator may be here illegally. (2) Prevent local governments in Wisconsin from providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants and, (3) make it harder for illegal immigrants to get benefits that they are not entitled to.” Pridemore continued, “However we will take strong measures to ensure that the bill does not promote racial profiling.”

About Me

"Words conveyed by wisdom and truth influence inevitable change, Las palabras que contienen sabiduria y verdad influyen inevitablemente al cambio", H. Nelson Goodson said.
Goodson is well known in the local organizing community network. Nationally, Goodson is one of the foremost respected immigration rights and reform journalist.
He is also one of America's foremost Latino civil libertarian.
The Badger Blogger 2008, Patrick wrote: Mr. H. Nelson Goodson, "You have covered things that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper won't and you cover it in a way they fear." Posted on Badger Blogger on August 17th, 2007 at 6:39 p.m.
Goodson was instrumental in helping to coordinate the national Immigration movement early in 2006, which drew millions of supporters for immigration rights and reform. Goodson further encouraged numerous members of the Latino entertainment world to endorse and support immigration reform throughout the nation in 2006, published in "El Conquistador Newspaper" issue on November 21, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Currently, Goodson has more than 32 years experience in news investigative reporting. (2015)

Immigration March 2007

Goodson marched with immigrants calling for a just comprehensive immigration reform, which would create a path for legalization for more than 13 million undocumented immigrants and to keep families together.